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Panasonic HDC-HS300

Complete Panasonic HDC-HS300 and HDC-TM300 Photo Gallery

January 7, 2009 – Today's Consumer Electronics Show saw the announcement of Panasonic's three flagship camcorders, the high definition HDC-HS300, HDC-TM300, and HDC-HS250. Panasonic is marketing this as their 'semi-professional' lineup, combining high quality video performance with intelligent automatic controls and a few extra bells and whistles.

All three models record in full 1920 x 1080 high definition and rely on Panasonic's three CMOS sensor array. The '3MOS' system consists of three 1/4.1-inch CMOS sensors, each with a gross pixel count of 3,050,000 and an effective pixel count of 2,070,000. The camcorders are also capable of recording still images with a 10.6-megapixel resolution and 8.3-megapixel stills when simultaneously recording with video. The series will also receive a newly developed, large-aperture Leica Dicomar lens with 43mm filter diameter.

This series is also Panasonic's flagship lineup for the company's Intelligent Auto (iA) technologies. That includes the optical image stabilization for both video and still photography as well as Scene Detection, which prompts the camcorder to select the most appropriate scene mode for you. Also returning in 2009 is Auto Focus (AF) Tracking, which allows the user to select a subject via the touch screen and have the camcorder automatically focus on that subject, even if it changes position.

The HDC-HS300, HDC-TM300, and HDC-HS250 also share a number of traits with Panasonic's entire 2009 high definition lineup. Notably, Panasonic seems to be among the first of the major manufacturers to offer full support of Apple Macintosh computers, allowing easy file transfer so that files may be edited in iMovie. All three camcorders will also feature auto power LCD and quick power on to make it easier to catch spontaneous moments on video. These camcorders are equipped with a 5.1-channel surround sound system with 5 microphones and zoom microphone feature. All high def models from Panasonic this year can also be networked with a Panasonic VIERA television or Blu-ray player.

The top-of-the-line model, the Panasonic HDC-HS300, features an internal 120GB hard disc drive (HDD), which can store up to 50 hours of video. The top Panasonic camcorders will continue to appeal to manual control afficianados, as the company continues to include an electronic viewfinder, microphone terminal, and manual control ring.

The step-down model, the Panasonic HDC-TM300 is identical in nearly every way, except for recording media. The TM300—TM stands for 'Twin Memory'—records video to either the 32GB built-in memory or an SD/SDHC memory card. This comes hand-in-hand with the Relay Recording function, which will alow the camcorder to automatically switch from internal memory to memory card if the internal memory fills up. In every other way, the TM300 is the same as the HDC-HS300, including the integration of the electronic viewfinder, microphone terminal, and manual control ring.

Panasonic HDC-TM300

Complete Panasonic HDC-HS300 and HDC-TM300 Photo Gallery

Below HDC-HS300 and HDC-TM300 is a third 'semi-professional' high definition camcorder, the HDC-HS250. The HS250 features a built-in 120GB HDD, but is virtually identical to its cousins in terms of internal processing/optics and video performance. The HDC-HS250 is intended to offer the same image quality, but in a more compact, portable design. Two ways in which Panasonic has simplified the design is by removing the manual functions and the electronic viewfinder.

Panasonic HDC-HS250

Complete Panasonic HDC-HS250 Photo Gallery

The three flagship models leading Panasonic's high definition lineup are scheduled for release in April. The anticipated MSRP for each camcorder is: HDC-HS300 ($1399.95), HDC-TM300 ($1299.95), HDC-HS250 ($999.95).